Get in the news

Getting coverage in the local media is a fantastic way to show your local community the fun and adventure of being involved in guiding – and persuade others to join in.

If you fancy making a splash in the media, ask yourself….

Is your story or event new, interesting and relevant to audiences outside guiding? For local media this means finding a local angle, linking it to local subjects, people or places. For others it’s about finding an angle that works for them. For example, a local parenting website might be interested in a Brown Owl’s top tips on camping with kids.

Is there a strong human interest angle to what you are doing? Perhaps a Guide has overcome her fear of heights to do abseiling, or two friends have got together to start a thriving new unit.

Is there something unusual or unique about what you are doing? Has your unit made the tallest cake, organised the first ever catwalk show made from recycled rubbish, or planted the first tree on a new housing estate?

Is it topical? Perhaps an event to celebrate our #WOWwoman campaign or a debate on girls and women’s rights to coincide with International Women’s Day.

If you’ve said ‘yes’ to any of the above, then it could work as a news story. Use our template press release to help package it up for media up in your area.

Remember if you use a Girlguiding press release template, please add Girlguiding Scotland’s boilerplate – the description of our charity that you can find at the bottom of our template press release – at the end.

It helps to remember that different types of media have different needs. For example, local TV will need someone to interview and something to film, such as girls doing an activity at camp. You could highlight filming opportunities at the top of your press release or when you call them.

Girlguiding Scotland’s Marketing and Communications team is always happy to help out with discussing ideas and tactics for getting media coverage. Contact us as we’d love to hear from you.

And please let us know straight away if you are contacted by UK or Scotland-wide media for any reason – if this happens, please call us on 0131 226 4511 or, outside of office hours, call Girlguiding Scotland’s 24-hour PR number on 07852 554 779.